I found iFriend compelling and was carried along with the story to see what would happen next.
The story is about an imaginary friend who accidentally becomes visible by everyone and has to find a way to become invisible again. Along the way, he finds another imaginary friend who has the same problem and together they try to find a solution.
The story is well structured, explaining why the imaginary friend has suddenly become visible to all and its journey to become invisible again. Along the way, it finds another imaginary friend who has the same problem. The story shows that the imaginary friend is searching for more than it might find and also that what it thinks it wants is not necessarily the best option. The story concludes with the viewer left to decide whether it has found what it is looking for or has made a mistake. I like the ending.
The camera work has very clear visuals throughout the production. Lovely shots of the locations and very well lit. The costumes are well considered especially for the two main characters where the bright colors for the main male actor and the suit for the female actor helps you think of them as not entirely real and indeed somewhat imaginary. The locations are well chosen - the park, the office, the street setting - all fit the narrative well. Each location helps set the mood and progress of the storyline. I enjoyed the song about how it doesn't matter if people speak a different language than you and about making people happy. This is a nice way of explaining some of the story without additional dialogue. There is a clever scene where one of the characters disappears from a room and reappears somewhere else. The two main characters have to be believable as imaginary friends and this is done rather well with how both actors show similar expressions on their faces to denote they are sad or happy. Also both actors have similar mannerisms which they both successfully portray. This helps to give the viewer the feeling they are interconnected. The person who plays the owner of the office helps bring the story to life with a feeling that they know more than anybody else and are in control. The acting certainly helps to underline that this is the character's role. My favorite part is when the two main characters first meet. I liked their facial expressions and the initial interactions. The production is very clear and would play well on the big screen. Parts of the film are in English, other parts are in Persian, with English subtitles, but they are very clear.
The message of the film is that It's good to be nice to people and bring them happiness. You should be aware that there is some smoking in the film, which might be an issue for some festivals.
I give iFriend 3.5 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 12 to 18, plus adults. I think the story is clever and interesting and the character development is handled well.
By Richard L., KIDS FIRST!
